Why Yankees’ Clint Frazier could secure a starting job to start the 2020 season

New York Yankees, Clint Frazier
May 28, 2019; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees left fielder Clint Frazier (77) reacts during an at bat against the San Diego Padres during the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

Yankees’ Clint Frazier is a major league talent that has been stuck behind New York’s outfield depth for years. He played in 39 games last year due to the plethora of injuries that the Yankees had to deal with.

However, he didn’t play well in right field causing the Yankees’ trust in him to drop. He has been working hard to improve his fielding and has seemed to impress manager Aaron Boone.

Is this the year that we finally see Frazier’s name in the Opening Day lineup?

Clint Frazier was a part of the Andrew Miller trade in 2016 and has been stuck in the Yankees’ minor-league system ever since.

He made his debut on July 1st, 2017 and has played a decent amount of games for the Yankees. However, he has yet to secure his spot on the roster. Frazier is a Major League Baseball player. He’s just on the wrong team. A lot of Yankee fans think he would serve as a good trade piece but the organization hasn’t shown anything that would make us believe they plan to do so.

So, what’s their plan?

It’s hard to tell what the Yankees’ intentions are for Frazier. Especially now that they are trying to move Miguel Andujar to the outfield. The Yankees have HUGE depth in the outfield and it’s really hard to pick a time and a place where Frazier can become a permanent starter.

Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge aren’t going anywhere anytime soon and Hicks will replace Gardner once he retires. So where does Frazier fit?

Over the past two years, we’ve seen Judge and Stanton on and off the field with different injuries. That is why Frazier has been playing in so many games recently. But with Stanton, Judge, and Hicks expected to start things in the outfield, we might see Frazier in that DH spot. Or, with Aaron Judge missing his second straight intrasquad game, it could be possible that we see Frazier start things out for the Yankees on July 23rd. The Yankees are expected to use Stanton as a DH to start the season so it could be that New York plans to use Frazier out there instead of Gardner.

This year has been crazy already, who knows what we might see next. Right now, I don’t see Frazier in the lineup against the Nationals on Opening Day. If a spot opens however, I have no doubt that Frazier will be able to hold his own. He has the ability to start for most ball clubs and the Yankees know that. I think New York has something up their sleeve for Red Thunder this year. Look out to see how the Yankees plan to incorporate Frazier this season.